Whilst the majority of Manchester's musical family are left frantically pacing past the city's red cladded brick buildings in an attempt to cling on to the coat tails of music's 'next big thing', there is however, something very special lurking both literally and metaphorically beneath those same streets.
Introducing Manchester's underground music scene . . . with its organism and reputation rapidly expanding as well as being brimmed with an energetic hot-bed of unique talent, we decided to delve a little deeper into those lo-fi burrows and unearth a variety of musical gems for you to mull over - all without leaving the comfort of your own home.
So strap yourself in and turn those speakers up to eleven, as we supply you with the most potent pill on the market, pure unadulterated underground vibes!
Brown Brogues
Based in Manchester, although hailing from nearby
Wigan, 'Brown Brogues' are a no nonsense sounding duo, who strip music back
down to its most primitive and barbaric form. By match making intensive
percussion and raw fuzz-filled guitar riffs with a pinch of hollowing, yet
restrained vocals, Ben and Mark create enough basement based mayhem that
causing a ruckus with your own shadow seems quite plausible.
As they stick two fingers up to any lazy
journalist who tars them with the obligatory 'White Stripes' brush,
'Brown Brogues' appear to dodge the earth-rooted blues and instead serve up
enough lo-fi garage noise, atmosphere and intensity they could easily be
mistaken for a quartet.
Recent release "Anyone But You", is
everything that you'd expect from 'Brown Brogues', an adrenaline fuelled frenzy
of guitar strumming with extra trimmings of Ben's dynamic drumming on the side to help guide this nugget along. As intended, they brew up enough feedback to melt
the faces off 'Jesus And Mary Chain', culminating in a cocktail of noise
that lines up alongside the vibes of 'The Cramps'.
Throughout this duo's rear-guard, the lo-fi
seduction is well maintained, with tracks "Just Like You" and "I
Drove For Miles Just To Hear About The Book You've Been Reading" sounding
so powerful and commandeering, you'll defiantly be leaving one of their gigs
running for mother after having had your tail strapped between your legs.
With the release of their debut album, 'Born To
Lose', only a matter of days away, we can be rest assured that 'Brown Brogues'
possess the talent, tunes and, above all, the bollocks to break out of
Manchester's dingy dwellings and reach out across the Atlantic Ocean to
America's lo-fi heartland.
'Brown Brogues - Anyone But You'
Temple Songs
With an album already under their belts as well
as a selection of singles, 'Temple Songs' are definitely not a band who are wet
behind the ears. By adding a portion of their own dreamy DIY pop to some
Mancunian cocksureness, they create an incessant and hugely engrossing early
60's surf vibe that leans heavily on the shoulders of 'The Beach Boys' and
'Harlem'.
Not scared to write a catchy song or fifteen,
'Temple Songs' roll the essential pop prerequisites in a glitter of delicate
melodies, mild psychedelica and lo-fi inebriation, blissfully placing you at
the wheel of a 64' VW Beetle, complete with surf boards strapped to the roof.
The joyous riot of "Magick With A K" is a particular highlight, with its
stabbing guitars as well as trippy vocals pummelling the song until it is
whipped up into a delightful musical frenzy. "I Can't Look After You",
'Temple Songs' most recent release, is a cross between a summer haze and a
psychedelic melt down, and as you've guessed, we absolutely love it.
If 'The Beatles' had been a little
heavier, recorded their few first albums in a basement as well as been
introduced to LSD at an earlier stage, it probably would've sounded something
like "Dragging You Down". Ok, so we may have become a little bit over
optimistic here . . . but if 'Temple Songs' carry on in the form they have
been, there is certainly no way of catching them.
'Temple Songs - I Can't Look After You'
Kult Country
One of the most recent additions to the Mancunian
underground scene are definitely 'Kult Country', who, after only a handful of
gigs in and around the city, have already received mass appreciation from the
general public, along with the sought after stamp of approval from the who's
who of Manchester music. In all their psychedelic and late night sounding
glory, 'Kult Country' produce a snyth induced sound that is weightless, thought
provoking, and at the same time, pulses vivaciously with every guitar stroke
made.
By smashing 'Spaceman 3' headlong into 'Joy
Division', they have created lo-fi underground music at its most hypnotic
and claustrophobic, with track "Slowburn" initially providing more
remedy than a sugar free Strepsil, but then erupting into an overblown vacuum
of noise towards each chorus. The release of "Tide" certainly
transcends 'Kult Country' into a land of intimacy and shoegazing dreaminess, as
the echoing guitars and synths collide gracefully with a drifting melody and
poetic lyrics.
'Kult Country' have already ensured they can cut
the mustard and stand shoulder to shoulder with other artists in Manchester's
underground treasure chest, to which their sound is compulsive and extremely easy to get
lost in!
'Kult Country - Slowburn'
Sex Hands
Often labelled under the same banner as 'Temple
Songs', 'Sex Hands' are another Manchester based band who produce exceptional
lo-fi garage pop, but do so by pushing the distortion button up to breaking
point. Although aiming to tread the well-trodden pop song footpath, 'Sex Hands'
encompass a musical pedal to the metal attitude, in which they wade in, complete with
pistols drawn, to eventually kick up a huge dirt cloud of sweet dreamy pop that
is simply other worldly.
Their whirlwind 2012 began with the release of
their mini-album 'Season 1', which certainly struck people off guard and
ultimately made them sit up and take notice of this extremely colourful and
wonderfully messy gang. Sounding like it has been recorded at the base of a
Victorian railway arch, 'Season 1' features a gripping 'Mark E Smith'-esque
howl to each track, which has then been infiltrated by the sonic’s of 'Nirvana'
as well as 'Pavement', in order to create a screeching jangle of
melody and pleasure.
Their stand out tracks are certainly "Way No
Way" and "ICHIBAN", that capture everything that it is so mesmerising
about the song writing capabilities of 'Sex Hands'. Short sharp bursts of
energy.
'Sex Hands - ICHIBAN'
The Bell Peppers
With a name resembling one of your 5 a day, 'The Bell Peppers' certainly fry up a storm when it comes to producing fantastic
lo-fi underground. The Mancunian band, who feature two left handed
guitarists as well as a healthy obsession with reel to reel recorders,
formulate vibes that raise a glass or two, to the surfing doo-wop era of early
sixties rock 'n' roll.
Their dream hampered guitar licks may appear to
be more suited to America's west coast, than of the over bearing grey skies
associated with Mancunia, but their songs are totally transfixing, acting like
a hypnotist’s watch from their very first flurry. The release of two EP's in
the last two years, 'Cooking with Bell Peppers' and 'Saved by The Bell
Peppers', definitely demonstrates this band are no flash in the musical pan,
with tracks such as "Tourettes" and "Golf Shack" sounding
like an episode of Come Dine With Me in which the laid back 'Rascals (of Miles Kane fame)' are
cooking up some succulent surf noise with 'Buddy Holly'.
We really hope that 'The Bell Peppers' continue
to produce such exceptionally named EP's as we want to feel as if we are constantly
only a stone’s throw away from a Tarrintino spectacular.
'The Bell Peppers - Shore Thing (Live)
So we've been underground and managed to source
out some fantastic bands that need to be heard by every man, woman and dog.
We felt that shining a light onto Manchester's lo-fi scene was a very big step in the right direction, to not only show that days of the parka and cheap abundant drugs are long gone, but to highlight there are number of new gangs in town, with their own unique musical quirks and charms, trying to stake out a claim in this glorious city.
We felt that shining a light onto Manchester's lo-fi scene was a very big step in the right direction, to not only show that days of the parka and cheap abundant drugs are long gone, but to highlight there are number of new gangs in town, with their own unique musical quirks and charms, trying to stake out a claim in this glorious city.
Until next time,
We're outta here!
BF x
We're outta here!
BF x
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